Wednesday, July 14, 2010

A group of journalists has announced that it plans to sue Israel over its deadly raid on a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip in May.

Lawyers have already begun preparing lawsuits in several European countries, according to several of the journalists, who met in Istanbul on Wednesday. The group accused Israel of violating international law.

One of the nine people killed on board the Mavi Marmara, the main ship, was Cevdet Kulclar, a Turkish journalist.

Reporters who were on board the ships say the Israeli government never returned their equipment or passports, and that Israeli soldiers later used their credit cards.

An Italian journalist, Manolo Luppichini, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in June that his credit card was used to make NIS250 ($65) worth of purchases in Israel.

In a statement released after their meeting, the journalists said they are demanding compensation for their losses, the return of their equipment, and an international inquiry into Israel's treatment of the reporters on board the flotilla.

The group of more than 30 journalists includes reporters from Turkey, Spain, Germany, Lebanon, Egypt, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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